Packers hold off Vikings

What a difference a month has made for the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings.

Ryan Longwell’s 33-yard field goal as time expired in Green Bay, Wis., gave the Packers a 34-31 victory over their archrivals on Sunday after the Vikings had rallied to tie it with two touchdowns in the final 2:53.

After Daunte Culpepper’s fourth touchdown toss, Robert Ferguson returned the kickoff to midfield, where Antoine Winfield forced a fumble. The officials ruled that Packers tight end Ben Steele recovered, even though Minnesota’s Larry Ned emerged from the scrum with the ball as the Vikings celebrated.

Brett Favre, who also threw four touchdown passes, calmly guided Green Bay to the Vikings’ 15-yard line, where Longwell split the uprights. It was Favre’s 18th game with four or more touchdowns, second only to Dan Marino’s 21.

So, just a month after being left for dead, the Packers have won four straight in their quest to become just the ninth team in NFL history to overcome a 1-4 start to reach the playoffs.

And the Vikings, who led the division almost all of last season only to watch the Packers swipe their playoff berth on the final play of the season, lost their third straight game.

Steelers 24, Browns 10

Ben Roethlisberger became the first rookie quarterback to begin 7-0 since 1970 as Jerome Bettis had two short touchdown runs, leading visiting Pittsburgh to a win over Cleveland.

After handing New England and Philadelphia their first losses the past two weeks, Pittsburgh figured to be due for a letdown. That will have to wait until next week – maybe – as the Steelers remained the NFL’s hottest team with their seventh consecutive win.

Bettis, starting in place of the injured Duce Staley for the second straight week, gained 103 yards on 29 carries. He scored on TD runs of 5 and 1 yards in the first half.

Patriots 29, Bills 6

Tom Brady showed the trophy-toting Boston Red Sox they’re not the only champions who can dominate.

New England beat Buffalo in Foxboro, Mass., behind two touchdown passes by the MVP in two of the last three Super Bowls — after Curt Schilling and Johnny Damon participated in a pregame ceremony for the World Series winners.

Adam Vinatieri kicked five field goals, Corey Dillon rushed for 151 yards on 26 carries and the Patriots picked off four passes.

Ravens 20, Jets 17 (OT)

Matt Stover kicked a 42-yard field goal with 7:39 remaining in overtime to lift Baltimore to a win over New York in East Rutherford, N.J.

Kyle Boller got the Ravens in position for the winning score by converting a third-and-5 from the Baltimore 49 with a 21-yard pass to Kevin Johnson. Boller then completed a 10-yard pass to Travis Taylor on third-and-14 from the Jets 34 to put the Ravens in field goal range.

Bengals 17, Redskins 10

Second-year quarterback Carson Palmer completed 24 of 39 passes for 217 yards and a TD against the league’s top-ranked defense, and Cincinnati held on to beat Washington in Landover, Md.

Rudi Johnson added 102 yards on 31 carries for the Bengals.

Saints 27, Chiefs 20

Aaron Brooks threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Joe Horn midway through the fourth quarter, and New Orleans rallied to beat visiting Kansas City.

Derrick Blaylock, playing for the injured Priest Holmes, had 33 carries for 186 yards and a touchdown for the Chiefs.

Deuce McAllister rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries for the Saints, while Horn had five catches for 167 yards.

Jaguars 23, Lions 17 (OT)

David Garrard threw two touchdown passes, including a 36-yarder to Jimmy Smith in overtime, to lead Jacksonville to a victory over visiting Detroit.

Detroit’s Eddie Drummond returned two punts for touchdowns in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

Bears 19, Titans 17 (OT)

Alex Brown sacked backup Billy Volek in the end zone and knocked the ball loose, and Tennessee tackle Fred Miller recovered but was tackled for a safety to give Chicago an overtime win against the Titans in Nashville, Tenn.

It was only the second time an NFL game has ended in overtime on a safety. The first was Nov. 5, 1989, when Minnesota beat the Los Angeles Rams 23-21 when Mike Merriweather blocked Dale Hatcher’s punt and the ball rolled out of the end zone.

The victory gave the Bears (4-5) their first three-game winning streak since the end of the 2001 season.

Falcons 24, Buccaneers 14

Bouncing back after the officials denied an apparent defensive TD, Alge Crumpler hauled in a 49-yard scoring pass from Michael Vick and Atlanta held on for a victory over visiting Tampa Bay.

Crumpler had four catches for a career-best 118 yards, and the Falcons rushed for 205 yards. The Atlanta defense had a season-high seven sacks to make life miserable for Brian Griese, and pressured him into a late interception that sealed the victory.